Real Newspapers Report a Drop in Projected Deficits as a "Reduction," Not an "Improvement"

A NYT blog post repeatedly referred to lower projections of a deficit as "improvements." The reductions in the deficit imply slower growth and fewer jobs. That may lead many to question the extent to which this development can be termed an "improvement."

While the piece did include statements from an Obama administration official boasting about the economy's growth it would have been appropriate to include the views of an analyst who would have reminded readers that the economy is not even growing at its trend pace. This means that the size of the annual output gap of almost $1 trillion (the amount of wasted potential output) is growing rather than shrinking.